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Dodgers pitcher Alex Vesia is expected to miss the entire World Series after stepping away from the team due to a 'deeply personal family matter.'
On the eve of Friday's opener of the seven-game series against the Blue Jays, Los Angeles announced that Vesia and his wife Kayla were 'navigating' a private issue that officials later confirmed is 'so much bigger than baseball.'
Precise details of the 'family matter' have not been made public but on Friday, the pitcher was not included on the Dodgers' World Series roster.
He was also left off the 'family medical emergency list.' That would have allowed him to be back on the mound after as little as three days.
Instead, the left-hander can now only return to the Dodgers roster in the event of an injury.
It means Shohei Ohtani and Co will take on the Blue Jays without a key reliever, with manager Dave Roberts admitting Vesia is 'most likely' out of the entire series.
Alex Vesia is expected to miss the entire World Series due to a 'deeply personal family matter'
The pitcher was not included on the Dodgers roster for the World Series against the Blue Jays
'It's certainly on our hearts and we miss him, and we’ll be thinking about him,' Roberts said. 'He’s certainly a part of this. It’s just even more motivation [to win for him].'
Andrew Friedman, Los Angeles' president of baseball operations, later explained why they opted not to include Vesia on the 'family medical emergency' list.
'We just didn't want to have any potential for any kind of pressure,' he said. 'This is so much bigger than baseball. For us, it was [about] doing whatever small part we could to just 100 percent be supportive.'
The Dodgers initially released a statement on Vesia's absence on Thursday. The announcement prompted an outpouring of well-wishes.
Among those to speak out was Chelsea Freeman, wife of Vesia's teammate Freddie Freeman. 'Please keep the Vesias in your prayers,' she wrote on social media.
Neither Vesia nor his wife has posted on social media since the Dodgers confirmed he was stepping away from the team. Back in April, the couple revealed they were expecting their first child.
